Albemarle announces change in pension accounting

Albemarle announces change in pension accounting
PR Newswire
BATON ROUGE, La., Nov. 15, 2012
BATON ROUGE, La., Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:
ALB), a leader in the global specialty chemicals market, announced today that
it plans to change its method of accounting for deferred actuarial gains and
losses relating to its global pension and other postretirement benefit (OPEB)
plans to a more preferable method in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles in the United States (GAAP). This new accounting
method, referred to as mark-to-market (MTM) accounting, will be adopted in the
fourth quarter 2012 and will be retrospectively applied to the Company's
financial results for all periods to be presented in its annual report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.
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"We believe this accounting change will provide greater transparency to our
operating results that will allow investors to more clearly evaluate the
Company's underlying operating performance by recognizing actuarial gains and
losses from our pension and OPEB plans in the year in which the gains and
losses occur, rather than amortizing them over future periods," said Scott
Tozier, Albemarle's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "This
change will also improve transparency by recognizing the effects of economic
and interest rate trends on pension and OPEB plan investments and assumptions
in the year changes in these trends occur. This methodology is preferable
under GAAP since it aligns more closely with fair value principles. Also,
this accounting change has no impact on benefits received by participants of
these plans or on the Company's related funding obligations."
Under MTM accounting, the Company's pre-tax pension and OPEB costs for the
nine-month period ended September 30, 2012 would have been lower than
previously reported by approximately $45 million. These lower costs would
have resulted in an increase in diluted earnings per share of approximately
$0.32 for the nine months ended September 30, 2012.
About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading
global developer, manufacturer and marketer of highly-engineered specialty
chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging,
construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection,
food-safety and custom chemistry services. Albemarle is committed to global
sustainability and is advancing its eco-practices and solutions in its three
business segments, Polymer Solutions, Catalysts and Fine Chemistry. Corporate
Responsibility Magazine selected Albemarle to its prestigious "100 Best
Corporate Citizens" list for 2010 and 2011. Albemarle employs approximately
4,000 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle
regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of
events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts,
Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings and other information regarding the
Company, its businesses and markets served.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the information presented in this press release, including, without
limitation, statements with respect to product development, changes in
productivity, market trends, price and mix changes, expected growth, outlook
and all other information relating to matters that are not historical facts
may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There can be no assurance that
actual results will not differ materially. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ from expectations include, without limitation: changes in
economic and business conditions; changes in financial and operating
performance of our major customers and industries and markets served by us;
the timing of orders received from customers; the gain or loss of significant
customers; competition from other manufacturers; changes in the demand for our
products; limitations or prohibitions on the manufacture and sale of our
products; availability of raw materials; changes in the cost of raw materials
and energy and in our ability to pass through increases; acquisitions and
divestitures, and changes in performance of acquired companies; fluctuations
in foreign currencies; changes in laws and government regulation impacting our
operations or our products; the occurrence of claims or litigation; the
occurrence of natural disasters; the inability to maintain current levels of
product or premises liability insurance or the denial of such coverage;
political unrest, including terrorism or hostilities; political instability
affecting our manufacturing operations or joint ventures; changes in
accounting standards; the inability to achieve results from our global
manufacturing cost reduction initiatives as well as our ongoing continuous
improvement and rationalization programs; changes in the jurisdictional mix of
our earnings; changes in monetary policies or inflation or interest rates,
which may impact our ability to raise capital or increase our cost of funds,
the performance of our pension fund investments and our pension expense and
funding obligations; volatility and substantial uncertainties in the debt and
equity markets; technology or intellectual property infringement and other
risks; decisions we may make in the future; and the other factors detailed
from time to time in the reports we file with the SEC, including those
described under "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our 2012
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
SOURCE Albemarle Corporation
Website: http://www.albemarle.com
Contact: Albemarle Media Contact: Ashley Mendoza, +1-225-388-7137,
Ashley.Mendoza@albemarle.com, or Albemarle Investor Relations Contact: Lorin
Crenshaw, +1-225-388-7322, Lorin.Crenshaw@albemarle.com